moving house - how long does my fridge freezer need to be left off?

I'm moving house next weekend, and was wondering how long my fridge freezer should be left before I can turn it on again, I've had conflicting information from various websites saying anything from 1 hour to 24 hours.

If it helps its only a few months old, and will be transported a short distance (about 5 mins) in an upright position.

Does anyone know when I can turn it back on?

And any hints and tips on what to do with all the food in it?! I was supposed to be moving in 3 weeks, so was going to let it run down, but with the move date being pulled forward by 2 weeks my freezer is nearly full! And I don't know of anyone who can take it all.

If transported totally upright, then you only need to leave it for a couple of hours - if at an angle or laid down then at least 24 hours - well this is what I have been told by several removers when I moved house 7 months ago.

I sell freezers and always advise 24 hrs.
If you fill all spaces in freezer with bags or tubs full if water that will freeze I reckon food inside may be ok if door kept shut? Put on fast freeze for few hours before turning off and leave til last minute.
Could make it just a bit less than 24....! There must be some leeway!
Good luck with the move!

Not keen on taking the chance with frozen food i think as far as leaving it in a freezer I'm going to have to leave off for 24 hours.. a lot of it is chicken an I'm very fussy when it comes to chicken.

I'll maybe see if I can get the meat stored somewhere and leave the veg etc in there.

If transported totally upright, then you only need to leave it for a couple of hours - if at an angle or laid down then at least 24 hours - well this is what I have been told by several removers when I moved house 7 months ago.

IF totally upright, you DONT have to wait at all. (no oil will migrate if its not tipped)

OR if you know which way to tip it without causing oil migration. (you haveto know what you are doing) then you don't have to wait at all.

If its tipped for a minute or two going through a doorway, wait 1-3 hours.

If its tipped for more than an hour (such as in a moving vehicle, etc) wait up to 24 hours.

Thats the advice from just about every repair technician that actually works on these.

advise pls

Sorry to crash your post..

I have just moved house and we had to tilt our fridgefreezer. We left it over 24 hours.
Now the freezer is fine but the fridge won't stay chilled. I put it on fast chill and it went to 2° but then its raised to about 10° ..
The fridge freezer is only 4months old so it should be fine..
Any advise to make it world please..

Freezer move

Someone mentioned oil earlier, well, there is no oil in a freezer, different freezers have different types of refridgerant materials and in different quantities. Basically you have a resevoir of liquid and a compressor. the compressor puts the liquid under pressure, which then expands rapidly and pushes itself in a gas form around a complex maze of pipes at the back of your freezer, and in your freezer. as it passes inside your freezer there is a heat exchange where heat is taken out (leaving your inside frozen), and then passes outside the freezer where the heat is dissapaited outside. now what happens when you move your freezer is that some of that refridgerant liquid can get into the flow pipes. If this happens and then the freezer is switched on, it will expand and burst the pipe it is in, as the pipe is not designed to take this pressure at this point. You then get a total loss of pressure, you freezer stops working, and it needs to be repaired and regassed. If you keep your freezer upright then chances are there will be no liquid transferrance, however, negative pressure in the system can cause draw back which will mean it is there. chances are it will be ok. if the freezer is laid down then there is deffinately liquid transferrance. Leaving it 24 hours makes sure that all the liquid drains back to the resevoir next to the compressor. I learned early on in life that its better to be patient, as i lost a good freezer. Also mentioned, fill your freezer up with water bottles, and cheap bread, so that as much air space is taken up as possible. then as long as the door is not opened, the temp will maintain over 24 hours. as long as the inside does not go above about -5 there will be no issues with the food, but it would be advisable to eat it sooner rather than later, as it will decrease the shelf life. I had a new freezer delivered today as it happens, and i will be leaving it for 48 hours to be totally safe. I hope that this helps.

Leave as long as you can, at least 24 hours, no matter what anyone says. I moved round the corner, kept fridge upright, left for a couple of hours before plugging in etc, a few days later I awoke at 5am with the house filled with smoke! The coolants hadn't settled properly and had then started reacting and the back of my fridge was on fire. Please leave it to settle, don't risk this happening.

freezer move

It applies to any freezer with the coolants. but to the above post, unsettled coolants, and burst coolants can not cause a fire. what can cause issues is if you lose pressure, and the continue to run the freezer afterwards, this could overheat the compressor as its running against nothing, but most modern ones would simply shut down and fail totally. . But if you do get a leak, believe me you will know, as the smell is like sulphar, so very strong.